Announcements

We have upgraded to new forum software as of late last year, and it makes everything here so much better! It is now much easier to do pretty much anything, including write Trip Reports, sell gear, schedule climbing related events, and more. There is a new reputation system that allows for positive contributors to be recognized, it is possible to tag content with identifiers, drag and drop in images, and it is much easier to embed multimedia content from Youtube, Vimeo, and more. In all, the site is much more user friendly, bug free, and feature rich! Whether you're a new user or a grizzled cascadeclimbers.com veteran, we think you'll love the new forums. Enjoy!

trad gear

Recommended Posts

i am looking at buying lead gear and was woundering if anyone knows about acme gear it seems to be half the price of the mainsteam gear, just would like to know if people think its up to the same standard????

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Eh...my friend bought a set of the Acme cams, and they were a far cry from the quality of BD, Alien, etc. They walked easier, and overall seemed kind of cheap...I have found the higher end cams to be much more user friendly, but that's not to say that the Acme cams are worthless. I'd say sack it up and buy the more expensive cams- just my two cents.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

ACME Cams look a lot like the Clog cams I use which are a knock off of the old Flexible Friends which have been replaced by the Technical Friends. In fact I am told that Clog is a subsidiary of Wild Country. The ACME is priced similarly to the Clog. While I have not used the ACME, I can say that the Clogs are satisfactory, although I would prefer the Costalots if I could afford them. $30 is a lot less than $50 and money talks while bullshit walks.

Note that there is a lawsuit against ACME filed by one Wile E. Coyote concerning the ACME Rocket Sled:

Mr. Coyote states that on December 13th he received of Defendant via parcel post one Acme Rocket Sled. The intention of Mr. Coyote was to use the Rocket sled to aid him in pursuit of his prey. Upon receipt of the Rocket Sled Mr. Coyote removed it from its wooden shipping crate and sighting his prey in the distance, activated the ignition. As Mr. Coyote gripped the handlebars, the Rocket Sled accelerated with such sudden and precipitate force as to stretch Mr. Coyote's forelimbs to a length of fifty feet. Subsequently, the rest of Mr. Coyote's body shot forward with a violent jolt, causing severe strain to his back and neck and placing him unexpectedly astride the Rocket Sled. Disappearing over the horizon at such speed as to leave a diminishing jet trail along its path, the Rocket Sled soon brought Mr. Coyote abreast of his prey. At that moment the animal he was pursuing veered sharply to the right. Mr. Coyote vigorously attempted to follow this maneuver but was unable to, due to poorly designed steering on the Rocket Sled and a faulty or nonexistent braking system. Shortly thereafter, the unchecked progress of the Rocket Sled brought it and Mr. Coyote into collision with the side of a mesa.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

It is my understanding that the Acme cams and the Clog Cams are made by the same manufacturer, and are the same Cam with a different label. . .though I can’t say that for sure. I am not a fan of the little metal stem tip.

If you are looking at inexpensive cams, you may want to consider Rock Empire. They are usually around $30.00 and are DECENT cams. I’ve used a couple and for basic rock I can’t complain, but I don't really love them either. They are dual stemmed, which some don’t like. I don’t have a problem with them.

I have, use, and love Trango Cams, both the older model (dual stem) and the newer flex cams (mono-stem). I think that I prefer the mono-stem flex cams. For the price they are hard to beat. They are lightweight which is great, especially on alpine routes. Solid performance at the crag or in the mountains.

From the Trango Page:

Which brings us to weight. Take a look at a popular cam, known for its expansion range, and compare it to our FlexCams™. In the popular hand size, this cam has 12% greater expansion range. That sounds great, until you look at the numbers and realize this is a whopping 3mm: the thickness of a tortilla. That same cam weighs 20% more than our comparable FlexCam™, meaning you can carry 10 FlexCams™ for every 8 of the “expansive” ones. We use a double-looped 12mm Ultratape™ sling, so you can clip in directly, at 4 inches or at 8 inches. That means you’ll rarely need a quick draw, which saves even more time and weight.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Hey...good advice...but seriously, every cam on the market is solid...so these are preferences...

If you are on a shoestring budget or looking to double up in some sizes, don't be afraid of the knockoffs...and also look at the forged friends...a good cheap alternative that alot of people actually prefer...also, borrow buddies' racks and check out other mfr's cams and see if the extra cost is worth it to you...at the end of the day, you need a full rack and if you can only afford half of one that is made up of expensive gear it won't do you much good...

Shoot my first rack was built by walking the cliff top w/ a rap rope and my brother walking the bottom to spot every monday morning and digging out stuck booty and bail gear...complete hodge podge of crap that served a 15 year old and a 17 year old really well...

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Acme will work, but they're not even close to Camalots, Metolious, etc in terms of workmanship, design, feel, and refinement. If you go with Acme, down the road you'll upgrade. So why not buy quality from the start?

If your only partner, or regular partner is also just starting out, you could go in on a set of Camalots together...just make sure that it's not "our set" but that you divide them so that some are yours and some are his (i.e. you own the 5., #1, #3, #4 and he owns the .75, #2,#3.5, #4.5 or something) Then you can gradually fill out your individual racks by buying the missing pieces and have enough between you to climb routes in the meantime. You'll also have a combined rack with all the same brand...which is very nice. I hate combining racks for a free climb and looking down at some strange brand of cams that I don't know the sizes by sight.

I recommend doing it this way because you can often swing a good deal if you buy an entire set at once. When I bought my first set of Camalots I had a rack built from booty gear, hand-me-downs, and a few cheap pieces. I went into a gear shop in Provo and told the guy I wanted to buy a set of Camalots from #0.5 to #5 and that I could get them for $X.XX from another place by mail order but I'd rather buy locally and support their shop, would they match the price? The price I quoted was about 10% below their price for a set and about 35% below what it would cost to buy the individual cams at MSRP. They said ok, and I walked out with a new set of cams. They also got my business the rest to the time I was there.

Don't be afraid to haggle, after all would you pay sticker price for a car? Asking price for a home?

Just my opinions, but I prefer Camalots from #0.5 on up. I like Metolius/Wired Bliss/DMM/HB in smaller sizes, and Aliens and Alien hybrids for aid. I still have a few Wild COuntry flexible friends and rigid friends, but I hate 'em.

Camalots to Acme is like Lexus to Yugo.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

My first rack was a combination of used gear I bought from old climbers in the 70's and from free soloing the Glacier point apron every night for a few months. By the time the 80's rolled around I was starting to spend a little more money and actually bought a full run of friends for $150. Seemed expensive at the time but the number of first ascents I was able to do quadrupled.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

dmm makes great cams that are light and relatively inexpensive. (not to mention colorful. ) the only drawback i've found is that they are easy to overcam (= get stuck), but if you know that ahead of time and are good with your placements it's not likely to be an issue.